[Private Equity Network Analysis③] Stick and IMM Networks Spread Throughout the Capital Market

Common Roots in Venture Investment Since 1999
Stick: A Key Talent Incubator in Venture Capital
IMM: Cradle of Major Private Equity and Asset Management Owners

Editor's NoteIt has been 20 years since private equity funds (PEFs) for buying and selling companies were first registered in Korea. The market, which was only 200 billion KRW in 2005, has rapidly grown to over 140 trillion KRW. As seen in the Homeplus incident, private equity funds now even affect the daily lives of ordinary people. We thoroughly investigate who the key figures are that dominate the domestic private equity industry.

The 1997 IMF foreign exchange crisis brought about a major transformation in the domestic industry. The void left by numerous companies going bankrupt due to large-scale corporate restructuring was gradually filled by venture companies that sprang up like mushrooms. At that time, a 'venture boom' occurred, and it was not uncommon to see companies hitting the upper price limit on the KOSDAQ market for several days.

Along with MBK Partners and Hahn & Company, Stick Investment, IMM Private Equity, and IMM Investment, which are among the top five domestic private equity funds (PEFs), also took their first steps as venture investment companies at that time. As 'young blood,' they worked overnight creating materials and met countless entrepreneurs, accumulating experience that led to today's mega PEFs. The colleagues who worked late nights and drank together have gradually dispersed one by one to pursue their own dreams. This is the background behind how Stick and IMM networks have spread throughout the rapidly growing Korean capital market.

Stick Investment: 'Seoul's Best Investment Network'

Stick Investment was established in 1999 and is one of the oldest native private equity funds in Korea. STIC (Seoul Total Investment Corporation) means 'Let's make the best investment company in Seoul.' As old as its history is, many investment managers have been produced, and they currently lead the domestic investment market.

A representative figure from Stick is Kiho Park, CEO of LB Investment. After working at Stick Investment for five years, he joined LB Investment in 2003. He achieved results by investing in Big Hit Entertainment, famous for BTS, Pearl Abyss, which entered the stock market with the game 'Black Desert,' and Dexter Studios, known for special effects production in movies like 'Along with the Gods.'

Woong Kim, CEO of TS Investment, worked as a certified public accountant at Anjin Accounting Corporation before joining Stick Investment in 2001 to handle venture company investments. In 2008, he founded TS Investment, mainly investing in bio and IT sectors.

Other Stick Investment alumni include Junggang Lim, Chairman of East Bridge; Seungkwon Baek, CEO of BSK Investment (formerly Suprema Investment); Hanseol Jung, CEO of Cactus Private Equity; and Donggyu Seo, CEO of Sindoh.

Stick Investment has been investing in companies across various sectors, supplying growth capital to small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies, as well as companies aiming for business restructuring.

Examples include acquiring MDS Technology and selling it to Hancom in 2014, improving management transparency at LIG Nex1 to successfully list on the KOSPI market in 2015, and in 2023, selling Daegyeong O&T to Eugene Private Equity, KDB Industrial Bank, and SK Trading International after six years, achieving a return of more than three times the invested principal.

The World in My Hands... IMM Network Everywhere

IMM means in Latin 'IN MANUS MUNDUS,' which translates to 'The world is in my hands.' IMM Investment Advisory, the first company to use the IMM name, was founded in 1998 by acquaintances in their early 30s including Sungtaek Hwang, Dongwoo Jang, Jihyung Lee, Jihun Kim, and Geunseung Lee.

The following year, in 1999, Dongwoo Jang, Jihyung Lee, and Geunseung Lee established IMM Startup Investment, which was equivalent to a venture capital (VC) firm at the time.

In 2000, IMM Investment Advisory and global asset management firm Macquarie invested in an 81:19 ratio to create Macquarie IMM Asset Management. Macquarie Asset Management, led by CEO Jihyung Lee, was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2007.

In 2001, Injun Song, who was Dongwoo Jang's brother-in-law, and Seongbae Ji, a friend of Dongwoo Jang and junior alumnus of Seoul National University's Business School to Injun Song, joined forces to establish IMM & Partners, a corporate restructuring specialist company (CRC).

Feeling the limitations of 'economies of scale,' IMM Startup Investment and IMM & Partners merged in 2004 and rebranded as IMM Investment. This is why IMM Investment, which originated from IMM Startup Investment, officially claims 1999 as its founding year.

Then in 2006, Injun Song separated IMM Private Equity, completing the current structure of IMM Private Equity (led by Injun Song) and IMM Investment (led by Dongwoo Jang and Seongbae Ji).

Sungtaek Hwang, one of the founders of IMM Investment Advisory, established Truston Asset Management in 2008 and became a major player in the domestic asset management industry. Truston officially states 1998 as its founding year.

In 2008, Jihun Kim, an early member of the IMM network and then partner at IMM Investment, became independent and founded Stonebridge Capital. Stonebridge has grown into a large firm with cumulative assets under management exceeding 3 trillion KRW.

In 2017, another early member, Geunseung Lee, CEO of IMM Networks, became independent and took office as CEO of Ares Asset Management (now KS Asset Management).

Jeomo Jeon, former CEO of IMM Asset Management, founded Helios Private Equity in 2018 and has invested in companies such as Com2uS and Cha Biotech.